Hollis Ross, 68, of Collegeville, Pa., was arrested Sunday afternoon on numerous charges, including two counts of attempted manslaughter, after police said he tried to hit two adult children in a driveway.
Photo: Ben Holbrook

DARIEN -- A 68-year-old Pennsylvania man drove his Lexus sedan across several neighborhood lawns at high speed Sunday afternoon and struck his estranged wife's parked Lexus SUV as his two adult stepdaughters stood in the driveway near it, Darien police said.

Hollis Ross, of Collegeville, Pa., faces two counts of attempted manslaughter and other charges, and was scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning. Instead, he was taken to Stamford Hospital for psychiatric evaluation, authorities said.

Police said after he smashed his car into his wife's, Ross got out of his car holding a yellow framing hammer and started smashing the windows of his wife's vehicle. His stepdaughters ran into the 21 Casement St. house and locked the door while another family member called 911. They subsequently told police they believed Ross was trying to hit them with his car as well.

Ross surrendered without incident when police arrived. He told them he had been drinking and failed a field sobriety test, the report stated.

The two females "narrowly escaped" being hit by diving into the bushes along the driveway, police said, and a bystander was also endangered. Both vehicles were heavily damaged.

There was already a a protective order from Pennsylvania prohibiting any contact between Ross and his wife.

In addition to two counts of first-degree attempted manslaughter, Ross was charged with violation of an out-of-state protective order; first-degree reckless endangerment; first-degree criminal mischief; driving under the influence of liquor and or drugs; and breach of peace.